etching damascus techniques?

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krangle1

krangle1

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what technique works best for you when etching damascus blades?
i read this from www.knifeart.com site about the etching solution "50% PCB Etchant Solution (available at Radio Shack®) & mix with 50% White Vinegar" is there any other techniques out there other than this. the reason i ask is i was told 50% PCB Etchant Solution and 50% distilled water. is one better than the other? any info would be greatly appreciated. :confused:
 
Here's the way I do it. 1 part PBC etchant, 5 parts water. this makes for a good slow etch, to me they come out looking cleaner and more defined then a fast etch. I etch the blade for 10 minutes, lightly sand with 2000 grit sand paper then etch again, keep doing this until I get the depth I want, usually about 4 - 10 minute sessions. O another thing, I take all my blades to a mirror finish before I etch. If you only take your blades to a 400 grit or so finish before you etch try 1 at a mirror finish, to me it makes a lot of difference.

Hope this helps

Bill
 
Bill, that is close to what I do now.
I use 3 parts distilled water to 1 part ferric chloride. I will go to about 600 grit and then etch for 30 seconds to make sure that the surfaces are clean and then put in for about 10 min. I take it out and wipe it down with a fresh q-tip (just smear it all over) and then put it back for another 10 minutes. If needed, I will do it again and it usually never goes over 30 minutes altogether. After I take it out and neutralize it, I will buff it and put it back in for about 10 seconds to darken it. Neutralize and sand with 1500 grit. Wipe off good and wax with renaissance wax.
I had use the 1:1 of water and acid and it would leave spots on the steel sometimes and that is a complete hand sand again :(. The 3:1 works good for me and I have heard of some going as high as 10:1. Always keep your acid covered to keep cantaminates out and the acid in.
 
I use copper sulphate solution. Coper sulphate is also known as blue stone and is used in gardening. If you stick a logo onto your blade and etch the copper sulphate will not make the label lift. I have used
hydrocloric acid as used to clean bricks but it lifts the logos off while etching.

I normally get a container of water big enough to cover the blade and add a couple of spoons full of copper sulphate if you put too much in it will just stop desolving the copper sulphate and it will sit on the bottom as crystals.

It has worked well for me in the past.
 
I usually use a 3:1 solution of water and radio shack ferric chloride. One of my neatest accidents was once when I was going to leave an unetched area for my my logo. I used a piece of tape, cut lovingly to the shape desired and oh so carefully put the blade in the solution. Then got sidetracked and left it in for about 45min... My first thought was YIKES/EEGADS, but this left the neatest little raised panel for a logo I'd even seen. I hope to incorporate this on more blades in the future.
 
Like Steve I use a 3 to 1 ratio w/ Radio Shack etchant. I generally do 3 cycles of 15 minutes each or until I can hang a fingernail on the etch, cleaning the blade w/ an old toothbrush in between cycles to remove the black gunk.
For Logos I like to get a quick 3 to 5 minute etch, clean the blade well, etch the logo on, mask the logo w/ finger nail polish (my logo is enclosed in an oval that gives me a "window frame" to put the polish around) then procede to a normal etch cycle. Clean the polish off w/ acetone and then you can still see the pattern under the logo but it does not have the deep etch so it seems to stand out a little.
 
Do you fellas us the fish tank bubbler while etching? That's the way I learned but, it seems the agitation would speed up the process.
 
Seems like I've heard that somewhere also. Good idea, and wonder if it would lessen having to remove the blade for cleaning occasionally..?
 
J. Neilson said:
Do you fellas us the fish tank bubbler while etching? That's the way I learned but, it seems the agitation would speed up the process.
Click to expand...

I had that same thought today when I was thinking about a knife I'm working on when I should've been working instead. Doing a vinegar etch/patina and was asking around if anyone had tried it. Figured it might prevent oxide buildup in slow etched like vinegar, and thus, save time cleanin g every half hour.
 
Darrin Sanders said:
I may be wrong but I think this takes the cake for necroposting.
Click to expand...

I'll admit, I didn't notice the date till after I posted. I just found the post looking for info about an agitating etch tank. THEN I noticed who posted asking about the bubbler. Was that THE J. Neilson?
 
Around here, he is just J. Neilson. You will find Devin Thomas, Jim Hrisoulas, Bruce Bump, Nick Wheeler, and many other well known names here. Many just use the name friends call them, like Hoss.

Always look at the date of threads you pull up in a search.

Thread closed.
 
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